Stow residents are guzzling Yuengling beer at a rate that’s surprising everyone from city tavern owners and bartenders to the area’s exclusive distributor for the Pottsville, PA brewery.

Yuengling Lager, Light Lager and Black & Tan brands — all products of America’s oldest brewery — arrived in area stores, taverns and restaurants early this week in the first phase of D.G. Yuengling & Son’s long-anticipated expansion into Ohio.

The House of LaRose in Brecksville, the brand’s exclusive distributor in Summit County, held a Yuengling tasting event Thursday evening at the Tavern of Stow, where owners Jim and Denise Demopoulos have served up an amazing amount of the brew this week.

“Our delivery was going to be Thursday, but I went to Brecksville on Monday to pick up two kegs (of Lager) and a few cases to hold us until our delivery,” said Jim Demopoulos. “We went through those two kegs in three days. Usually it takes us two to three weeks to go through a keg of other popular brands.”

The tavern, which is selling pints of Yuengling for $2 as its happy hour special from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays, is not alone.

Hannah Gonzalez, day manager at Brubaker’s Pub, said the Pennsylvania beer was delivered Monday.

“We went through two kegs of the Lager already, and that’s really fast. Usually any bar that has Budweiser on tap, you go through a keg in a week. We didn’t know what to expect, so that’s really good,” she said.

Brubaker’s is featuring the beer for $2 a pint during happy hour, every day from 5 to 7 p.m.

Bartender Heather Bockmiller said the beer has been getting a “great reaction” from customers at The Stowaway Pub.

“I think I pulled more Yuengling yesterday than any other beer and sold quite a few bottles of the Black & Tan,” she said. “It’s a full-flavored beer without it being too heavy. It’s a different taste than your regular Budweiser, but it’s just as cheap as Budweiser.”

Applebee’s bartender Rob Wilson said he started selling the Lager on tap Monday.

“Everyone loves it and it’s selling really well. It’s a well-rounded beer with no bad aftertaste,” he said.

Both Bockmiller and Wilson said they’ve heard customers express relief that they no longer have to drive to Pennsylvania to buy cases of the beer. Among those folks are Kathy Toye and John Whitman, who moved to Stow 10 years ago from Scranton, PA.

During the Tavern of Stow’s tasting event, the duo said they’ve always favored the original Lager for its wheat taste and lack of temperature sensitivity, but now plan on switching to the Light Lager after trying it Thursday.

Mitch Merriman, a Stow resident who is a Yuengling brand manager at The House of LaRose, said sales of the beer have “been off the charts. Everyone knew it was going to be huge … but it’s been so in demand that it’s almost surprising.”

He said the beer has been outrageously popular this week everywhere from high-end restaurants to mom-and-pop stores.

“We’ve had calls for more (Yuengling) from everyone … sales have crossed all sections of consumers. We have 6,000 customers in the eight counties we serve, and we’re unloading trucks at an unprecedented rate. It’s been tough, but our operations side has been doing a phenomenal job,” Merriman said.

Mardy Ray of Cuyahoga Falls, a House of LaRose sales representative whose territory includes Stow, said his customers have “been doubling, tripling their orders. (The beer) is drawing people in — they can’t get enough product because they’re selling through it like water.”

Merriman said Yuengling is being sold in every Stow retail outlet, restaurant and bar that requests it.